Enthusiastic response
to Congress rallyPatiala, November 29
If the enthusiastic response to the Congress rally held here today is any indication, it seems Congressmen are already smelling power. Congress aspirants from all assembly seats in the district thronged the Rajpura Colony grounds to impress the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee President, Capt Amarinder Singh, who was in an upbeat mood.

BJP poll panel to meet todayChandigarh, November 29The legislative group of the Punjab BJP and the state election
committee of the party will meet here tomorrow.

Punjab okays leave for
self-employmentChandigarh, November 29
Punjab has offered its employees sabbatical leave up to a period of five years enabling them to seek self-employment. If successful, an employee may either resign or seek premature retirement; if not, he/she may rejoin to complete the remaining term of service.

Cops get taste of their medicineLudhiana, November 29
Forty policemen of the Punjab police, sent as complainants to various police stations in the state recently by the Punjab Police Academy, Phillaur, to study the police working and behaviour, had a first-hand experience of how difficult it was for the common man to get a case registered.

Lok
Bhalai Party to contest 90 seatsFatehgarh Sahib, November
29The Lok Bhalai Party will contest 90
Assembly seats in the coming elections. The names of 20 candidates
have been announced and they have started campaigning. This was stated
by Mr Balwant Singh Ramoowalia, President, Lok Bhalai Party, while
addressing a party conference at Shamsher Nagar village today.

Unity only
if Badal steps down: Baba BediLudhiana, November 29Baba Sarbjot Singh Bedi, convener , Panthic Morcha, said
here yesterday day that doors for the likes of Bhaniaras had been
opened in Punjab by Mr Parkash Singh Badal with the election of Mr
Kirpal Singh Badungar as the president of the SGPC.

S.
Asian Friendship camp concludesMoga, November 29The week-long 11th South Asian
Friendship camp, organised by the South Asia Fraternity Chapter of
India, concluded today with the declaration for strengthening ties and
bringing awareness among the people of the countries to shun hatred.

Parties
on toes to check bogus votersTalwandi Sabo, November
29Members of various political parties and prospective
candidates for the coming assembly elections today remained on their
toes in the tehsil offices of the district to thwart any attempt,
particularly belonging to the ruling alliance of Punjab, to register
bogus voters.

50
yrs gone, she still waits for spouseHoshiarpur, November 29After she was dumped by her drunkard
husband 50 years ago, 75-year-old blind Sarla Devi, resolved not to
live under a roof till her husband came back and took her home. She
has been keeping her promise for five decades by living in the open
near Town Hall here.

Bungling
in fish supply by contractorsRopar, November 29The case of death of fish in the Sutlej took a new turn
today, with the district administration admitting that the fish which
perished on November 17, allegedly due to toxic effluents in the
river, were supplied by contractors in the market.

PCI
panel meets Chief SecretaryChandigarh, November 29A three-member fact-finding committee, constituted by the
Press Council of India, on the alleged attack on the Editor of a Hindi
daily of Bathinda, today met the Punjab Chief Secretary, the
Information Secretary, the Home Secretary, the Director-General of
Police and others.

Processions
taken out on Gurpurab eveAmritsar, November 29 A “nagar kirtan” procession led by the Guru Granth
Sahib and the “panj piaras” started from Akal Takht and passed
through various parts of the city today. The entire route of the
procession was decorated on the eve of the birth anniversary of Guru
Nanak Dev.

The Panj Piaras stand in front
of Akal Takht before the start of nagar kirtan
on Thursday . — Photo Rajiv
Sharma

Sobha
Singh Art Gallery to get faceliftAmritsar, November 29Mr Swarna Ram, Minister for Tourism, Cultural Affairs and
Archives, today announced that the state government would renovate the
Sobha Singh Art Gallery at Sri Hargobindpur (Gurdaspur) — the birth
place of the artist, which is in a state of utter neglect.

ASI
slaps ‘munshi’, both suspendedJalandhar, November 29An Assistant Sub-Inspector posted at the Police Division
No. 3 here allegedly slapped the “munshi” of the police station
this morning.

Rs
643 lakh for Ferozepore villagesFerozepore, November 29The Punjab Government proposes to give
greater administrative and financial rights to all the district-level
planning and development boards in order to ensure all-round
development of the villages and to implement various development
schemes at the grass-roots level.

PUDA
policy on plots for staffChandigarh, November 29The Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority
(PUDA) has approved a policy on the allotment of residential plots to
its employees. The decision was taken at a Finance and Accounts
Committee meeting of the authority held last evening.

MC
violating Local Bodies Dept normsJalandhar, November 29Has the local municipal corporation violated prescribed
norms by undertaking development works in unapproved private colonies
on the outskirts of the city in the past one decade at the expense of
the state exchequer? It seems so, if laying of water supply and
sewerage lines worth crores of rupees by the civic body in these
colonies is any indication.

District
admn complex plan hangs fireGurdaspur, November 29 The plan to construct a district administrative complex
by PUDA here to house all offices under one roof has virtually been
abandoned.

All
octroi employees to be absorbedAmritsar, November 29 All 4,000 employees, who had been working at various
octroi posts, would be absorbed in different government departments
after the abolition of octroi.

Robbers’
gang bustedJalandhar, November 29The Jalandhar police has busted a
two-member gang of robbers by arresting its kingpin today and seized
an imported revolver robbed by the gang from a house in the Urban
Estate here recently.

65
drums of bitumen seizedBarnala, November 29The local police has seized 24,810 intoxicant pills, 832
capsules, 230 injections and 54 kg of poppy husk from different parts
of the city.

PCCTU’s
week-long stir from Dec 4Ludhiana, November 29Academic work in 172 private colleges of
Punjab and Chandigarh is likely to be disrupted for a week beginning
from December 4 in the wake of a ‘‘cease work’’ call given by
the Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers’ Union (PCCTU) here
today. While the colleges will remain open, no classes would be
conducted during the week.